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SHE DIDN’T KNOW THE city well enough to recognize where they were going until they were just blocks away from Regulator Headquarters. Evalene heard shots fired by the front of the building, but they turned down a side road before the combat was visible, and pulled up to the back of the enormous building instead. It didn’t matter. None of the rebels would know to rescue them.
Staring at the headquarters looming over them as the vehicle pulled up to the building, Evalene felt dread fill her. But her newly found courage rose along with it.
There was still hope.
They dragged the girls inside the building. Evalene was only able to take in the tall ceiling, the desks on one side, and the cells on the other, before she was tossed head first into the closest cell. With her hands still shackled tightly behind her back, Evalene tucked herself inward to break the fall this time, bending her knees and twisting her body so that her right hip and shoulder hit first, hard, resulting in a shooting pain, but thankfully she avoided smashing into the ground with her face. Olive, who came in directly behind her, was not so lucky.
Her friend landed face first on the floor directly in front of her.
Evalene winced.
“Olive,” she whispered. “Olive, are you okay?”
No answer.
Blood trickled from Olive’s forehead onto the concrete floor where it had hit. Her body angled in a way that couldn’t be comfortable, yet Olive didn’t move.
Behind them, the metal door to their cell swung shut.
A key turned in the lock.
Glancing at Olive in concern, Evalene rolled over onto her back. Olive needed medical attention. Evalene pushed herself up awkwardly on one bound hand until she was sitting. She would beg them for help.
But when she turned towards the room, the first man she saw was the angry Regulator who’d struck them both earlier. Evalene shrunk back instinctively. Her mouth was dry.
“We don’t have time to deal with them right now,” said the man with the puckered lips. He was moving across the room towards the front of the building. “I want every man with me. We’ve got them with their tails tucked between their legs. Time to blast them before they get away!” Were the rebels really losing or was he bluffing?
He stopped at the door, waving all his men through, but stepped in front of the young Regulator who had held Olive, effectively blocking the man’s path. “You’re staying here to guard them. I’ll take care of them, and you, when I get back.”
The young one’s frown deepened, but he nodded.
This time when the sour-faced man took the last few steps to the door, the younger man stayed put. As the angry Regulator swung the door open wide, he chuckled, a sharp, hacking sound. “When we crush this uprising, I look forward to your punishment.”
He left cackling. Evalene couldn’t tell if he’d been talking to them or the younger Regulator.
The sound faded as the door swung shut behind him.
Evalene leaned over until she was resting against the bars of their prison, pushing off the floor, forcing her tired legs to lift her and using the bars to keep herself upright. Once standing, a wave of dizziness, leftover from the voyage, threatened to knock her back onto the ground.
Deep breaths.
Focus.
It took a moment to find the young Regulator where he now sat in the middle of the large room, with his feet up on a desk, arms crossed, leaning back in his chair. He was frowning at the door.
“Please sir,” Evalene called, wishing she could recall the correct Regulator titles. She guessed. “Control Leader, sir, my friend is hurt. Please, we need help!”
After a moment of indecision, the young man swung his feet off the desk to the floor. Strolling towards them, he stopped a half dozen feet away from the bars of their cell. His face was unreadable, other than the permanent brooding stare.
“Grausum is the Control Leader,” he said, crossing his arms again and tipping his head the slightest bit toward the door where the hostile blonde Regulator had vanished. “I’m just a Watchman.”
“Of course.” Evalene leaned into the bars to keep her balance. She tilted her head towards Olive since her hands were unavailable to point. “My friend is hurt Mr. Watchman –” she peeked at the badge on his uniform that said C. Solomon. “Watchman Solomon.”
“Sol,” he corrected her, dark eyes expressionless.
“Watchman Sol,” she repeated the name he gave her, trying to be agreeable. “Please, can you do something? Even if you just untied my hands, at least then I could help her.”
He scratched his nose and shifted his feet, but didn’t come any closer. He glanced towards the door.
“I won’t tell the Control Leader that you helped,” Evalene bargained. “He can think I got free on my own.”
When he still didn’t move, she pressed herself up against the bars and yelled in frustration and desperation. “Are you deaf? She’s hurt! Do you want her to die before your stupid hanging? Get a med kit!”
Evalene didn’t know who was more startled, him or her, when he jumped into action.
Bringing over the med kit from the wall, he twisted to take the ring of keys off his belt. Instead of untying her hands and passing the kit to her, he unlocked the cell door and surprised Evalene by entering.
Stepping away from him, Evalene backed into the far corner, feeling vulnerable with her hands tied. But he ignored her, and bent down beside Olive. First he removed the restraints on the girl’s wrists. Once her hands were free, he gently rolled her over onto her back.
Olive moaned.
Evalene watched her friend’s eyes flutter and close again. Blood dripped down the side of Olive’s forehead, not slowing much since her fall. But this Regulator – what was his name again? Sol? He wiped away the worst of it with some gauze. Cleaning the wound with something that smelled strongly alcoholic, blood continued to gush from the cut, and finally he pressed the gauze against it, in an effort to stop the bleeding. Digging in the med kit for more supplies, he came up empty-handed.
Eyes catching on her purple pantsuit, Evalene had an idea. “I can help if you remove my restraints?”
Watchman Sol’s eyebrow twitched in skepticism at the idea, the only sign that he’d heard her. But after a moment, he stood. Approaching her, he spun his finger in a circular motion, indicating she should turn around. She did, uneasily. The moment her hands were freed, she yanked them in front of her, even as she whirled to face him.
He simply raised his eyebrows at her and crossed his arms, waiting.
Evalene hesitated, not wanting to take her eyes off him any more than he did her. But a moan from Olive reminded her they didn’t have time to waste. She stepped around the Regulator toward her friend, coming to stand on the opposite side of Olive, hunkering down next to the girl.
Testing the bottom of her pant leg, Evalene exhaled sadly, and ripped. The fabric tore easily. Pulling slowly, carefully, she ripped off a long, winding strip from the bottom of the pant leg, circling a few times and stopping halfway before she reached her knee. She offered it to the Regulator.
Standing on the other side of Olive, he reached across and took it. Kneeling as well, he set the fabric on the floor beside him, removing the gauze he’d pressed into Olive’s wound, which was now soaked with blood. Seconds after he lifted it, blood pooled underneath. Evalene frowned.
He picked up the fabric and placed it on Olive’s forehead carefully. Lifting her head with gentle hands, he wrapped the cloth around the back of her head, and back up to where her golden hair was stained red near her forehead. One full wrap around Olive’s head, pulled tight, was immediately followed by a second wrap, covering the first. On the fourth wrap around Olive’s head, he ran out of fabric right by Olive’s ear, and lowered her head back to the floor.
Evalene watched Sol fish a safety pin out of the med-kit, securing the makeshift head wrap. A sigh of relief escaped Evalene’s lips. But then he shifted to pick Olive up, this time her whole body instead of only her head.
Evalene protested. “Don’t move her! Leave her here with me!”
But he wasn’t separating them. He laid Olive on the hard cot against the back wall. The thin mattress was a slight improvement from the concrete floor.
His face, so expressionless before, now showed a hint of concern in his frown as he stared at the unconscious girl. “I’ll get you some water.”
He locked the cell door behind him and disappeared down a hallway.
“Olive,” Evalene whispered, coming over to the cot, kneeling on the cold floor and leaning close to her friend’s ear. “Olive, I need you to wake up. Please. I can’t do this on my own...”
Stirring, Olive’s eyelids trembled, but didn’t open. Head tilting to the side, she could’ve easily been napping if not for the tiny spot of blood leaking through the purple fabric wrapped around her head, growing larger. Evalene slumped on the floor next to the cot, leaning against the wall.
They were going to die here.
She regretted so much. “I’m sorry, Olive,” she whispered, staring at the bars of their cell. “This is my fault. If I had come with Jeremiah, you would still be home right now with Mae.”
Olive’s hand touched her shoulder, startling her. Evalene hadn’t thought she was awake. “It’s okay,” Olive said. She was so pale. “I wanted to come. And you don’t have to be afraid. God will take care of us.” She smiled, but her hand dropped back to the cot weakly.
The girl with the bloody head, lying on a prison cot, recently captured and beaten, and quite aware they might soon die, smiled peacefully. How was it that she could have more peace in a moment such as this than Evalene had known in her entire lifetime?
Evalene didn’t have a chance to ask.
Sol’s boots echoed loudly in the hallway as he re-entered the large room. He held a small cup. Striding towards their cell, he handed the cup to Evalene, and she immediately brought it to Olive, setting it on the floor to help her friend sit up.
But pain scrunched up Olive’s face before she was even fully upright, and she sank back down. “I’m feeling better,” she whispered, refusing to sit up, her eyes closing.
“You should drink something,” Evalene argued. She lightly shook her arm, trying to wake her, but Olive didn’t answer. Evalene didn’t know what to do. God, she found herself praying through her fear, if you’re really the God that Olive believes in... can you save us?
“You should keep her awake in case she has a concussion,” a voice said behind her.
Evalene jumped.
Watchman Sol still stood where he’d handed her the cup. She’d forgotten he was there. But his gaze was on Olive, forehead furrowed. “I mean it,” he said. “You can’t leave someone with a concussion, they need to be kept awake, monitored...”
“What do you care?” Evalene heard the defiance in her voice. It surprised her.
Arms crossed casually, he continued to stare at Olive the way someone might look at a zoo animal. “How did she get to the age she is without being Numbered?”
Evalene blinked in surprise. Vaguely a memory of hands on her neck when they were first captured came back to her. It made sense they’d checked Olive’s neck too. Bare skin. Evalene smiled. It felt like a small triumph.
“She’s not from Eden.” She crossed her arms as well, although it didn’t hold as much punch while sitting cross-legged on the concrete floor, with one pant leg ripped half off.
She knew all the questions flooding his mind. They’d been her own. How did they know their Number? What to do in life? Who they were? Their value? Their role in society?
“Numbers aren’t real,” she told him, standing, quoting Jeremiah to him as if she believed the words herself. “They’re not who we are.” Did she actually believe that? She realized she was starting to.
He surprised her by nodding thoughtfully. “You hear whispers,” he said, still staring at Olive, “families who bribe the priests for higher Numbers. Or those who fall out of favor with the Number One, and their children just ‘happen’ to receive unusually low Numbers.” This was the most he’d spoken since they’d met. Evalene’s eyebrows rose. She hadn’t heard those rumors, but his last example made her wonder if she wasn’t the only one?
Olive twitched and stirred. Both Evalene and the Regulator paused their conversation to examine the girl.
“You really should wake her,” he said again.
“Mmm, I’m up, I’m up,” Olive mumbled, eyes closed.
“No you’re not,” Evalene argued.
It worked.
“Yes I am!” Olive’s eyes flew open. She struggled to sit up and Evalene helped her. Evalene didn’t know anything about concussions, and against her better judgement, she found herself trusting the Regulator’s recommendations. Holding the cup for Olive, she helped her friend drink. Her throat was parched, but she ignored it, letting Olive have the entire glass.
Sitting on the cot next to Olive, she held her friend upright with an arm around her shoulders, wincing at the bloody head-wrap. Olive reached a hand up to touch it at Evalene’s expression. When she pulled her hand down and saw the blood on her fingertips, she paled visibly. “Oh... That’s not good...”
Sol’s keys jangled as he unlocked the door once more. He stepped into the cell, holding out his hands, “Give me the cup. You need to drink more water.”
Olive smiled at him gratefully. He looked away, taking the cup, and disappeared down the hallway again.
He left the cell door wide open.
What was he doing?
Evalene wondered if Olive could make it if she asked her to run. Olive swayed a little to the left, blinking away dizziness. No. They wouldn’t even make it to the door.
When Watchman Sol reappeared though, Evalene lifted her chin. “We could have escaped.”
His smile was so small and quick she almost didn’t catch it. He shook his head as he handed her the cup of water. “You wouldn’t get far. There’s fighting out front and guards out back.” He shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning against the cell doorway. “Believe it or not, this is the safest place for you two right now.”
Olive smiled up at Sol. “Well then, I’m glad you caught us!”
Evalene frowned at Olive. “We would have been just fine on our own. And the safest place is with our friends, not locked up, waiting to be hanged.
Sol grunted.
He fiddled with the keys on his belt. Stared at a spot on the wall. Then, as if making a decision, he finally said, “Maybe you won’t be here much longer.” That was cryptic. Was he offering to help them escape?
Olive brightened and smiled, immediately reading into his words. “You’re going to let us go?”
Evalene couldn’t believe it when Sol nodded, still scowling. She scowled back, not trusting him. She wasn’t sure if his permanently dark expression was directed at them or the situation.
“God sent an angel to help us even here.” Olive’s smile was huge as she got to say her favorite words. “I told you.”
Evalene didn’t answer. She stared at Sol, unconvinced. He looked uncomfortable at being called an angel.
“Oh! I know,” Olive turned to Sol. “You should come with us!” She clapped her hands at the idea, but weakly, her energy fading quickly. “If you’re changing sides, there’s no point in staying.”
Sol started shaking his head before she’d even finished. “I can’t.”
“Yes you can!” Olive argued. “If you change your mind later, you can just come back and say we took you hostage.” She grinned at the idea.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, staring at her in thought.
Olive drew a deep breath to argue further. Evalene knew from experience that her friend could hound him all day. Evalene held out a hand, interrupting. “Whatever you do is fine. Just let us go.”
Sol nodded, swinging the cell door further open, leading them out. “Where are you headed? I can at least point you in the right direction.”
“The city news station,” Olive said, leaning forward to stand.
“Why should we trust you?” Evalene said at the same time, as she helped Olive up. She flung her free hand out in frustration. “Olive! This could be a trap! He could send Regulators!”
They entered the main room and stopped outside the cell in front of Sol.
“He won’t,” Olive said confidently.
“I won’t,” Sol said at the same time.
Olive swayed a little.
“Here,” Sol pulled out the closest chair. “Rest. You’re not ready to travel yet.”
Wanting to argue, Evalene glanced once at Olive’s pale face and the thin line of sweat on her lip, and held her tongue.
Once Olive was seated, Evalene assessed the rest of the room, wishing they had more options. She could try to roll Olive out on a chair with wheels when Watchman Sol wasn’t looking. But the city roads were filled with potholes. Dragging Olive might not be physically possible for more than a few blocks.
She crossed her arms and leaned against the closest desk, eyeing Sol. The young Regulator made her nervous. She couldn’t read him.
He met her gaze without a word. Neither of them looked away. It could have gone on indefinitely if Olive hadn’t broken the silence.
“Would you be terribly offended if I asked who was winning the fight?” Olive bit her lip as she asked Sol.
He shook his head, expressionless, and spoke as if giving a report. “Shortly before dawn, we received a call to the local news station. We sent men to respond, and more men when they needed backup. That left us shorthanded when they attacked here around six a.m. before our day shift started. They began to retreat about an hour ago, but we’re not sure why. We don’t have enough men to crush the rebellion entirely until reinforcements arrive from other cities.”
“Has anyone else been captured?” Evalene asked.
Sol gestured to the empty room. “Our orders are shoot to kill.”
Olive gasped.
“Why didn’t you shoot us then?” Evalene demanded.
He ignored the question, looking at the door where Control Leader Grausum had vanished. “The city news station isn’t too far from here. I could drive you.”
“Oh yes! Please!” Olive accepted his offer immediately.
Evalene squinted at him. Had he stopped the Control Leader from shooting? Someone had yelled. It might’ve been him. That would explain why the leader had mentioned a punishment. But she was still skeptical. “What’s in it for you?”
“Evie!” Olive chastised, tsking at the question, waving her hand as if to effectively wave the words away. “Sol is a gentleman. I can tell. Why are you so quick to judge him based on his Number? What if he doesn’t want his Number any more than you want yours?”
Now it was Evalene’s turn to look away.
Sol lifted his chin. “I never had a choice before.” He shut his mouth, pressing his lips together tightly. Evalene thought that was all he was going to say. She turned to Olive and took a breath to ask if her friend could walk instead, when Sol surprised her by adding, “I’d like to come.”
“You’re willing to risk a hanging?” Evalene frowned at him in suspicion. “If the revolution doesn’t succeed?”
“Yes.” Sol shrugged, giving them no further insight into his decision. It didn’t feel like enough. But he clearly wasn’t going to share any further. His gaze met Evalene’s as she considered him. After another long pause, he gestured to the blood-soaked fabric around Olive’s head. “Whatever you do, decide quickly. She needs a doctor.”
Olive touched her forehead, wincing in agreement.
“‘She’ has a name,” Evalene shot back. But she nodded. The sooner they left this prison, the better. “You can drive us.”
“It’s Olive.” Her blonde friend beamed up at Sol. She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.” And he shook it, humoring her.
“You too.” He strode towards the door they’d come in. “This way.”
Evalene helped Olive out of the chair, and they slowly followed. At the exit, Sol stood waiting for them. “Stay here.” His jaw was set in determination, serious gaze unwavering. “I’ll pull the car around and pick you up.” A hint of worry as his gaze touched Olive again briefly was the only change in his expression. He hesitated, hand on the doorknob. “There’s fighting breaking out all over the city. It will be dangerous...”
“We’ll be okay,” Evalene told him, unflinching. He didn’t say another word. Opening the door, he vanished from sight as it swung shut behind him.
“Olive, you can’t tell him anything else,” Evalene whispered to her friend while they were waiting. “We don’t know if he’s really going to help us.” She refused to be fooled again. “He could be manipulating us for information, or maybe when we reach everyone else, he’ll put a gun to our heads and try to use us as hostages. We can’t trust him.”
Olive was blinking as if the light hurt her eyes. She turned her head slightly towards Evalene, then winced at the movement, putting a hand up to the bandages on her head. “I understand,” Olive’s voice was weak, un-Olive-like, “but we can’t stay here either.”
Evalene didn’t have an argument for that. If they stayed, they could be killed within the hour. Olive added, “He’s our only option.” And Evalene knew it was true.